The Subspace Curse
by ArminArlelt
Summary: When Toon Link suddenly comes home and attacks the smashers, it's up to Link, the only person Toon Link truly trusts, to find out what's going on with his little brother. What is causing Toon Link to act this way? Read and find out!
1. The puppet

_**Disclaimer!- Every story I read has this so... I do NOT in **__**any way**__** own the super smash brothers title or the characters mentioned in this story. The only thing I own is the idea and plot (I think).**_

_**Hi!~ This is my first story so I hope it's not too suckish =) Anyway, this won't be too long, but I think this is worth reading. The underlined statements are just side notes to give a little detail to the story that will possibly be important later ;) The italicized words are thoughts. Have fun reading!* =D**_

*In the woods a little ways from the mansion*

"Please! Stop!_ Please_!" a weakened voice cried out into the forest.

Blobby green things with dark eyes were deaf to the child's pleas. They had a mission, and planned on completing it.

A small boy dashed through the forest, trying to out-run the monsters following him. He winced and clenched one eye shut when he cut his leg on the brush along the ground, but did his best to ignore it and continued to run.

He yelped in fear when he suddenly heard the primids gaining on him.

The child's eyes widened and more tears of fright leaked down his face as his assailants continued to make advances on him. He gasped and tried to slash at a few that were nearest to him, but they would simply morph back into their former shape if they got hit.

Finally giving out from exhaustion, his fell to his knees and panted hard. He couldn't get away; he had known that the minute he stumbled across the hoard of them. He slowly glanced back at his antagonists with half-lidded eyes. His vision had become foggy and it was getting harder to breathe.

One of them suddenly melted into a puddle of dark purple matter, and one of the dots began to snake towards him. He tried to move, but knew his attempts were in vain. He couldn't resist; there was no strength left in him.

The speck traveled up his bruised body and entered it without any pain to its victim. The boy's eyes widened and a dark aura suddenly surrounded his body.

He cringed and clenched his fists tightly. Soon enough, though, his body loosened and his head lowered. He then staggered up slowly and looked up into the night sky, standing with valor. He smiled, showing almost fang-like teeth, and chuckled darkly.

Turning towards the mansion, the boy began to make his way to the door, smile gone and sword in hand.

. . . . . . . . . .

It was a regular night at the smash mansion; nothing to speak of was going on. Everyone was, however, in the main living room having a small gathering after all the matches were done for the day. Everyone had light hearts and were enjoying the food and conversation. All the smashers were there except one for a small green-clad one that no one seemed to notice was missing. But suddenly...

"CRACK!" the door slammed against the aging dry wall, making a hole where the doorknob had hit it. The chatter immediately ceased and everyone turned to look, startled by the sudden noise, only to see sweet little Toon Link standing in the doorway. All of them lowered down their guard when they saw who it was, but yet a thick layer of tension still laid over the room. Something was not right; they could all tell.

Toon Link stood there with his head slightly hung over, the shadow of his blond hair covering his eyes. His clothes, upon further examination, were torn and riddled with blood stains. He stood there for a while, right hand on the door he had crashed into the wall and the other on his sword handle. No one moved or talked for what seemed like hours, until Link finally decided to speak to him.

"Uh... hey Toon, w-where you been?" Link said trying to make light conversation, but failing when his voice cracked. Everyone else remained quiet and still, but was slightly surprised by Link's sudden break through the thick silence.

Link had always been very kind to Toon Link, keeping him out of trouble and taking care of him when he was sick, even though sometimes his younger self annoyed him to no end (like all brothers). Toon Link also was very happy to have a brother with such a reputation, and looked up to Link like a hero (which he actually was). When Link would scold Toon Link that he was not trying hard enough or giving up too easily, Toon would go into a very deep depression, and would not speak for a long time - sometimes almost 2 weeks - having lowered his already fragile self-esteem. After all, he was a newcomer, and his confidence was not at the caliber that the veterans had.

Toon Link continued to stand at the door; not moving, and taking in short, harsh breaths, which everyone could hear due to such a deafening silence. Finally, Lucas, Toon Link's best friend, came over to him, deeply concerned about the blood stains that were covering his short arms and legs. His natural apprehension was skyrocketed when he got close enough to see the true damage done to the other's body.

"Toon Link, what happened? Are you alright?" Lucas asked with worry.

Toon Link did not move or even flinch, but after a moment, Link saw the grip of Toon Link's hand tighten around the handle of his sword. Link realized what was about to happen and tried to warn Lucas.

"LUCAS, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Link screamed in desperation to save the boy from harm. Lucas heard the words and, just before Toon Link swiped his blade at him, the boy quickly leapt out of the way, narrowly missing the blow. Everyone let out a sharp gasp, while Link watched in horror to see what his brother would do next. Oddly, Toon didn't move from his current stance.

Link was worried now, and that's saying a lot considering all that he has been through in his life.

Suddenly, he saw Toon Link's sword start to sparkle on the tip, meaning he was charging up a spin attack. Link tried to run at him to prevent the boy from possibly seriously hurting someone, but was too late in doing so.

Toon Link spun wildly around the room, trying to hit anyone in range. Link had never seen such a powerful spin attack, even from his own self.

Everyone ran in various directions, trying to avoid it. Some were lucky to get by, but unfortunately, Falco wasn't one of them. He got clamped in between several of the fleeing smashers, earning him a large gash on his wing, not being able to get out of the situation in time. He fell over onto a nearby table, which, on top of everything else, knocked him unconscious. Wolf and Fox noticed him and grabbed him as fast as possible, taking him quickly out of the room to Dr. Mario.

The others were rushing and screaming in all directions, trying to get out the door. Successful in doing so, Toon Link stopped his attack when everyone had made it out safely.

Link was still in the room though. He was going to try and get close enough to Toon Link and catch him so he could stop this onslaught and figure out what was wrong with his brother. He started to advance towards Toon slowly, being careful to notice any sudden flinch or movement he made.

_Something is definitely wrong with him,_ Link thought, _Toon Link would never purposely hurt anyone outside of the battlefield._

Just as Link had gotten close enough to his brother to see how deep his cuts really were, Toon Link, who still had the same expression as when he had come through the door, quickly turned and ran through to opening everyone had escaped through. Being quite a bit faster than Link, Toon Link was able to make an easy escape.

_NO! He'll hurt, or maybe even kill, more people if I don't stop him! _Link thought hurriedly.

Screams ran throughout the mansion. It's not that any of them couldn't defend themselves; they just didn't want to hurt Toon Link, who everyone realized was not in his usual state of mind.

Toon had gathered everyone in a corner of the kitchen; the kids and some of the girls trembling and the guys standing in a defensive position protecting them, not really knowing what else they could do. Just as Toon was about to bring his sword down on several of those who were near the front, Link appeared in the doorway.

"TOON! Stop! What's wrong with you?" Link yelled.

Toon turned slowly and looked at him, although Link still could not see his eyes that were covered by his thick, golden hair.

"Toon Link..?" Link questioned as he took a step closer.

When Toon Link finally looked up to where Link could get a full look at his brother's face, it finalized his first thoughts.

_His pupils are... gone… his eyes are completely void… _Link thought in shock, looking at the blank stare Toon was giving him.

It was true. Toon Link's pupils had vanished, leaving him with a look in his eyes that was unreadable.

After a moment though, Link noticed Toon's pupils return for a second, then fade, but return again. His eyes were flickering in and out like a light bulb.

Toon Link then groaned and shut them hard, falling to his knees and making his sword clatter to the floor. He held his head and clenched his teeth together, making Link lower his defense out of concern for his brother.

He walked over to Toon Link, and as he got close enough to touch him, Toon Link opened one eye and grabbed his sword again. He slashed at Link, not meaning to hit him, but just to make him back away. Link looked at him in shock when Toon Link, after all this time of silence, finally spoke.

"...Link," he began in a strained voice, "..get... everyone... out... of here. Then... when they.. are... all gone...," he paused, now tear-filled eyes looking up at Link, then began to speak again, "...kill me."

_**Wow... lots of drama =) Hope you liked the first chapter well enough to keep reading!* =)**_


	2. The plan

Everyone who had been watching the display gasped at what Toon Link had said. Link's eyes widened and his voice caught in his throat.

"Toon... I... I don't need to kill you. I... I can help you with whatever is going on." Link said, stuttering in shock.

Toon Link looked at his brother with teary eyes for a moment before he shut them again and groaned. His hand reached for his sword and he stood once more.

"Tch.." Toon Link smirked, then looked up at Link with his pupils gone once more, "no one can help him now." His voice echoed with a dark, deep, menacing tone, which Link and everyone else concluded had come from whatever was controlling him.

Link looked into his brothers blank, emotion-less eyes, almost searching for something that would tell him his brother was still there somewhere in that unreadable stare.

Link, for once in his life, felt completely helpless. He didn't know what was controlling Toon Link, how he could stop it, or even what he should do next. There was NO WAY Link would have the heart to kill his brother, so that option was out. So, they both just stood there, waiting for the other to make a move.

Suddenly, Link rushed at Toon Link, finally deciding that it wasn't safe to have the others here with his brother's unpredictable movements. As he expected, the boy dodged it and jumped out of the way, allowing enough room for everyone to make it safely out of the door and down the hall into each of their rooms.

The possessed Toon Link, realizing that he had been tricked, screamed, "NO! GET BACK HERE!" in the same tone he had previously spoken to Link with. He clenched his fist, almost breaking the handle of his sword in half.

He turned to Link and gave a deep, wolfish growl. Link didn't even have to guess that Toon Link was ready to kill.

He rushed at Link, who quickly jumped out of the way, but not in enough time to avoid the swipe of Toon Link's powerful weapon.

He held his arm in pain, and looked down to see much blood running from the gaping wound. Although, Link was surprised to see that it wasn't very large, considering the fact that Toon Link had rushed at him with the intent of killing him, and soon... the others.

_Toon Link must still be in there, trying to control his own body, _Link thought with a glimmering flame of hope rising in his chest. He completely forgot the slightly less-than-large scrape on his arm as he turned his attention back to Toon Link.

Toon Link once again fell to the floor as he had done before, apparently the dark force inside him taken over with the guilt Toon had for slashing his brother.

Toon tired to stagger back up, but then yelled out in pain again and slammed into a nearby shelf, making several large pans fall onto his head. This made Toon Link fall back to the floor and quiver in pain, having taken so much damage to his small body all at once. After all, Toon Link already had many scars and bruises covering his head, stomach, legs, and arms. Tears began to stream down the small boys face. Link didn't know if it was from the pain or the fright that Toon Link was feeling, but either way, he was overcome with sadness that he could do nothing to help his brother that was apparently in a lot of uncontrollable distress.

Seeing Toon Link cry made a sudden inspiration hit Link, and as he put away his sword, he began to calmly walk over to Toon, who had resumed the pupil-less expression he had before. Toon Link still looked pretty intimidating, despite his tear-stained face and defenseless position.

Link walked up to him like nothing had been going on and looked down at his brother with a dark smirk, making the other more apprehensive.

_**What has Link come up with this time? Keep reading to find out!**_


	3. Breaking the spell

Link smirked, ready to put his plan into action.

"You are so pathetic, using such weak attacks in a useless attempt to overthrow me," Link lied, remembering the gash on his arm and how bad it had hurt. "If you could only see how utterly **stupid** you look, trying to act all tough when clearly you are just an over-confident little wimp."

Saying all this made Link feel bad, but not near as bad as it made Toon Link feel.

"...I'm...a wimp?" said Toon Link sadly. As Link had hoped, Toon Link's pupils returned, giving him the Toon Linkish look in his cat-like eyes that he had had before all this started.

_Time to bring it home, _Link thought.

"Well... duuh..? I mean, the only reason that I even agreed to train you was because you were so bad before - which, tch, you haven't gotten much better- I was ashamed to be your brother," Link said, trying to put as much as he could into every word he spoke, while still leaving the smug look on his face.

Toon Link lowered his head, dropped his sword and shield, then dropped to the ground, looking defeated. Link saw tears begin to stream down his face.

"Link..." Toon Link said, tears coming down from his sad eyes, "I PUT EVERYTHING I CAN INTO TRAINING AND THAT'S STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU IS IT!"

Link was surprised at what he had said. He didn't know how strongly Toon Link felt about his brother's opinion of him.

Deep down, Toon Link always felt over-shadowed by his brother, him always being best at everything. He truly did put all his effort into his every performance, whether it be training with Link or fighting in an all-out brawl. Hearing this from the one person he deeply trusted and looked up to only increased his belief that he was about as important as a penny to a billionaire.

Suddenly, he stopped crying and stood up, his pupils gone once more. He scrunched up his face and looked extremely irritated, like he had just smelled something awful.

"This body is emotional and weak," Toon said with that strange tone again, "I'll have to find someone with less feelings and more hatred. There are several other potential candidates here."

Toon Link's pupils returned and then became small as he held his head and shrank to the floor, screaming in pain once more. Link just watched sadly, knowing he could do nothing to help him, but at the same time happy, knowing his plan had worked.

A dark speck suddenly drifted out from the left side of Toon's chest and floated by Link. Link tried to grab it, but it ran smoothly through his hands and headed into the hallway. Link was about to run after it when he heard Toon Link groan. Link looked over at the now normal Toon Link as he staggered up with tear-filled eyes and gave a drowsy stare at him.

"Toon Link…" Link said as he looked at his brother with bright eyes.

Link began to smile, but got stopped short when Toon Link closed his eyes and started to fall forward. Link gasped and ran up to him, grabbing Toon just before he hit the hard floor. Link turned him over gently and looked at his weak little body that was decorated with scrapes and blood stains.

Judging by the scratches that covered his body, Link decided that Toon Link had apparently been in a battle, probably with something from subspace; that's what the dark speck had looked like. Link and the others had battled with the evil beings enough to be able to recognize what the matter looked like. Coming back from where ever he had gone, Toon Link had somehow become possessed by them, and, knowing that no one from the mansion would dare attack a small, cute little child that was their dear friend, guided him back to the mansion to attack everyone.

_They've figured out how they can control others bodies, _Link thought, making him shiver.

Toon Link suddenly groaned and shifted a bit in his arms, making Link remember that his brother was in bad condition. Toon Link laid almost lifeless in Link's arms. He was breathing, but with difficulty.

Link got up quietly and began to walk to the infirmary which was almost on the other end of the mansion from where he was. Link sighed and then winced when a shock of pain suddenly surged through his arm. He looked down and realized that his wound had opened up again, making his trip even more of a bother. He decided to just try and ignore it; he had to get Toon Link to the doctor.

. . . . . . . . .

Link looked at all the gashes on his brother's body as he walked to Dr. Mario's office. He felt so bad for Toon Link.

He had been attacked, gotten bad wounds all over his body, been possessed, forced to attack his friends, injure Falco and his own brother, called a pathetic wimp by his hero, and pushed to the point that he offered for Link to kill him. Why had all this happened to such an innocent little boy?

Link looked up and saw that he had reached the infirmary. He had been lamenting so much that the trip seemed to be much shorter than imagined.

He glanced down at Toon Link and then opened the door, almost crashing into the doctor.

"Oh, my apologies. What can I do for-"Dr. Mario stopped his sentence when he saw Toon Link. He slumped a little and put a hand over his mustache-covered mouth.

"What happened to him?" the doctor asked. Link looked down at Toon Link and sighed.

"I'll explain later… just please… help him…"


	4. Gone?

Link stayed at Toon Link's bedside the whole time he had been asleep, thinking that this was his own entire fault for being so careless of his actions. He had an excuse for all that had happened.

The possessing of his brother-

_I could have gone with him to make sure he made it there and back safe. Instead, I stayed here and partied while my little brother was in trouble. I didn't even bother to see where he was going! _

The gash on Falco's arm-

_I could have jumped in and tried to stop Toon or at least pushed Falco out of the way. I just stood there like and idiot and watched him get hit!_

The gash on his own arm, that he now had bandaged-

_If I would have moved out of the way faster, Dr. Mario wouldn't have had to spend time bandaging me up and could have paid more attention to Toon Link._

Link glanced down at Toon Link and scanned over his body. There were bandages covering almost every part of him; he might as well be put into a body cast.

"This is all my fault…" Link whispered as he laid his head down on the mattress of Toon Link's bed. He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some of the girls who were still awake (Peach, Zelda, and Samus) went to check on Toon Link once they received word from the doctor that he was back to normal.

"I hope Toon Link is alright…" Samus commented on the way to the infirmary.

"Me too… he was always so sweet and helpful to everyone. It would be awful if he didn't pull through..." Peach sighed.

"Yeah, and you know how worried and stressed Link gets when it comes to Toon Link. I hate to see him so upset. He doesn't deserve this any more that Toon Link does," Zelda said. Her two companions nodded in agreement as they reached the hospital wing.

They walked to the entrance of Toon Link's room and smiled when they opened the door and looked at the scene.

Link had finally guilted himself to sleep, and laid his head on the mattress of Toon Link's hospital bed, while still sitting in his chair. Toon Link was also asleep, as he had been since he passed out back in the other room. The girls giggled like all girls do when they see something cute.

"Oh my gosh, they look so sweet!" smiled Peach.

"Awww!" Samus and Zelda said quietly together.

As they tip-toed away, they all had the same thought;

_Link would be a good dad._

_. . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

When Link woke up the next morning, his back and neck ached from sleeping in the hard chair.

He then remembered Toon Link, and quickly sat up to look at him. He gasped when he saw the empty hospital bed.

Toon Link was gone.

_**Omg! What will happen? Keep reading! Sorry for the shortness.**_


	5. It's not over yet

Link was worried to death. He, once again, blamed himself; mad that he should have woken up when Toon Link had shifted out of bed. He got up and scoured the hospital room, frantically searching for his injured brother.

When he was convinced that he wasn't there - after destroying half of the room - Link went into the hall searching each room for him. He had searched 5 of the rooms, with each one that was empty loosing a bit of hope. He then opened the 6th and let out a sigh of relief.

Toon Link was sitting next to the still sleeping Falco that had a large bandage on his head and right wing. Toon Link looked deeply saddened at his unconscious friend, but the bandages and scratches that Toon had appeared to be much worse than those on Falco.

Link walked up, grabbed a nearby chair, and sat next to him. He sat down quietly and looked at the sad face of his brother, expecting some kind of greeting or 'good morning'. Toon Link didn't even look back at him.

"Hey... how ya feelin'?" Link asked, finally deciding to spark up a conversation.

Silence.

"Um... how long have you been here?" Link asked, trying a different question.

Still, Toon Link said nothing.

"Toon, why won't you talk to me?" Link asked again, a hint of irritation in his voice.

Toon Link's eyes shifted to Link and they narrowed in anger.

"What, I'm suddenly 'worthy' of talking to you?" Toon Link finally said, the anger also apparent in his raspy voice. He hadn't recovered very much from yesterday and it was still a bit of a difficulty for him to talk very well.

Link looked at him confused for a moment, but then realized what he was referring to.

"Toon, I just made that up so you would become sad and that thing that was controlling you wouldn't want you as a host body anymore, thinking you were too weak and emotional to carry out what ever kind of evil plan it had. I didn't mean **anything** by it." Saying this made him think about where that speck had gone to, but he quickly snapped back into reality when he remembered Toon Link sitting next to him.

He looked at Toon Link, who didn't bother to respond. He had an angry look on his face, still not believing what Link was trying to tell him.

"Toon, really, I would NEVER mean anything like that about you, you've got to believe that. You are a great fighter, a great friend, and I am very glad that you are my brother," Link said this in such an honest tone that you would have believed him if he said he could fly.

Toon Link's expression finally softened, and as he began to tear up, he grabbed Link by the hand and dragged him out into the hallway so he wouldn't disturb Falco if he started crying.

When they got out into the hallway, he hugged Link hard and tried (but failed) to hold back tears. Link hugged him back, relieved that Toon had finally believed him.

"I w-was s-so... scared-d L-Link!" he said as his voice cracked from the crying, "I-I t-thought I w-was going to... to d-die!" He hugged Link a little harder.

Tears racked the small boys frame as the sleeve of Link's tunic where Toon Link had been crying into was getting more wet by the minute. It seemed as if Toon Link had bottled up all his tears of horror from the previous day's events and was now letting them all out at once. Hours of pain let out in a few simple minutes.

Link smiled slightly. He was so happy to have his brother back safe with him. He promised inwardly that he would never let **anything** that caused so much pain and suffering to his little brother ever happen again.

Later that day...

"AAAAHHHHH!" screamed Mario.

Link's sensitive ears picked up the scream, and he looked out into the hallway. He got up and ran out of the room, convinced that Toon Link was alright for the time being. Toon Link was still asleep and he didn't think that he would be gone very long. It was probably just a spider or something.

He ran from hallway all the way down to Mario's room, which was actually pretty close to where he was.

When Link finally reached the doorway, he saw Mario backed up against a corner with Bowser closing in on him. Link was confused for a moment but then saw Bowser raise his huge hand above his target, ready to crush the plumber. Link's eyes widened as he held out a hand to try and stop the monster.

"BOWSER, STOP!" Link yelled frantically.

Bowser turned to look at Link, and Link saw he had the same pupil-less expression Toon Link had had yesterday.

"...Oh my God..." Link gasped.

_**Here we go again! =) Hoped you like this so far! =)**_

Bottom of Form


	6. Captured

Link quickly drew his sword as Bowser was about to crush him under his large, dragon-like hands.

He blocked attack after harsh attack, trying not to let his anger get the best of him and do something he would later regret. He knew Bowser was not in his right state of mind, even though he was tempted to end the fight right then and there.

Other smashers awoken by Mario's scream came down the hall to see Link trying to get Bowser back into reality. No one knew what to do, although the smashers that were close enough to hear the scream were not much help. Jigglypuff, Red, Yoshi, and Wario were the only ones there. Jigglypuff got scared and ran away. Red, without his Pokemon that were still recovering from yesterday's battles, was helpless and also left. Yoshi was too busy trying to get Mario out of the mess. Wario simply didn't care enough to stop it and left grumpily, mumbling that he shouldn't have been woken up for this.

Link was getting tired since he hadn't gotten much sleep the past two nights, and the gash in his arm was not making the match rise in his favor.

_I've got to get that subspace out of him! He'll never stop until I do!_

Just when it looked like Bowser would overcome him, Link remembered where the speck had come from Toon Link.

_The left side of his chest!_

Link backed far enough away from Bowser to pull out his bow and the last light arrow he had left, and carefully aimed it at the left side of Bowser's chest. Pulling back, he wondered if the thing would be in the same spot since Bowser was so much bigger than Toon Link. No time to think now; Bowser was approaching fast.

Link clenched his eyes shut and let his arrow fly, hoping by luck that it would hit that awful thing that was controlling everyone.

Bowser let out a wild shriek, apparently not too happy about the arrow thrust through his chest. Link opened his eyes and realized that his plan had worked. He quickly got up and ran to the back where the arrow had cracked through Bowser's rock-hard shell.

Then he saw it.

That stupid black speck that had caused him so much pain, jabbed at the tip of the glowing arrow.

_**Yay Link! Sorry this was short though. Coming up... something... shocking. =) **_


	7. Mario to the rescue

Link then realized that he had to get that arrow out of Bowser fast before he suffered any permanent damage. Link grabbed the arrow's base and pulled hard, making Bowser roar as the arrow slid through his body. He then collapsed to the floor unconscious.

Link breathed hard and then finally sighed as he concluded that this nightmare was finally over.

Suddenly, everyone came out of their rooms, hearing Bowser's load yell. They gathered around and looked at the cracked shell on Bowser's back, then at Link who held the bloody arrow in his hand. Everyone was silent, looking at Link in shock and confusion.

"Well, I guess Link finally snapped," Ike said with his blunt tone. Link looked at everyone with a shocked expression, but words failed him as he couldn't some up with a sensible sounding explanation.

Master Hand suddenly came floating down the hallway, also awoken from the commotion.

"What is going o..." Master Hand stopped as he looked at Link's blood-ridden arrow and then the collapsed Bowser.

"LINK! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" Master Hand screamed. "This calls for EXTREME punishment!"

Poor Link didn't know what to say. How could he explain everything that happened without Master Hand thinking he was just crazy? Either way he would be thrown out of the mansion, may it be from this incident or from Master Hand sending him to a Lunatic Asylum. Just when he gave up hope of coming up with an answer...

"WAIT-A!" screamed Mario from the down hallway.

Everyone turned to look at him as the red plumber ran down the hallway and up to the front of the group, panting hard.

"He..*pant*.. didn't.. *pant*.. want-a to hurt-a Bowser!" Mario said through breaths," Bowser attacked-a me out of-a no where and Link is the only-a one that-a would help-a me. Bowser had-a this-a strange-a, blank-a look in his eye and he looked-a like-a he was under a curse or something. He wouldn't normally-a attack-a me and... it-a wasn't Link's fault-a," Mario finished. He stood in front of Link in a defensive position as he watched Master Hand contemplate all of this.

Master Hand glanced at the others, then back to Link.

"Link, if you can get Bowser to Dr. Mario, I'll let you go, ok?" Master Hand finally said.

Mario smiled and looked back at Link, who sent him back a thank-you-so-much-I-owe-you smile.

Relieved, Link - with surprisingly little effort - picked up Bowser and took him off to Dr. Mario.

. . . . . . . . .

In the hospital wing, Bowser still lay unconscious, and Falco was still asleep. The doctor told Link that, thankfully, Bowser would not die and should be awake any moment. Link thanked the doctor kindly and then decided to go back and check on Toon Link.

Toon Link had been moving around a little in the passed few days, usually to check up on Falco or take a shower, but his head was still hurting and he hadn't recovered from the bruises and scars that were all over his body. Link still refused to leave him over night, even though Toon Link insisted he could make it fine.

Secretly, Toon Link was very happy to have Link there with him. He was a little afraid of staying in the dark room by himself after all that had happened, and if something else occurred, he couldn't defend himself very well. But he also liked Link there because it was the only family he had at the smash mansion.

When he had first come here with Link, he felt as if no one liked him. This was easy to understand because since all the girls were swooning over Link, and all the guys preferred to hangout with his older 16 year old version instead his 12 year old self, he really was left with little choice of companionship. Finally, Lucas, Ness, Nana, Popo, and Kirby became his best friends. They did everything together and always told each other everything, making Toon Link feel very happy and accepted.

After he had turned on the lights, Link calmly walked over to take his usual spot next to Toon Link. He then noticed something dark on Toon Link's covers. When he got close enough to see what it was, he gasped in fear.

Blood.

_**For all of those who really care, I'm sorry if I got Link's age wrong. I was just guessing :)**_


	8. Revival and Realization

Link was terrified. He grabbed Toon Link's shoulders and shook him as hard as he could without hurting him, hoping that the small boy would wake up. When he didn't, Link started to tear up.

"Toon..." Link said through his crying, "TOON!"

The boy said nothing.

Link tore off his covers to see where the blood was coming from. When he saw the spot the thick blood had been running out of, he was at a loss for words.

_That's exactly where… I shot Bowser…_

Link shook off the shock and grabbed desperately for something to stop the bleeding through eyes that were fogged with tears. He could barely see, but he wasn't going to let Toon Link die, not while he was here.

_Ugh... I can't move... I can't even see... what's going on? _

_Why do I feel rain? Wait... that's not rain... I think... I think it's...tears?..._

_Who's crying? Why are they crying? Is it because I'm... dead? _

_No... I'm not dead. I wouldn't be able to feel the tears if I was dead. But I certainly feel as if I'm dead._

_Then why are they crying? Maybe they think I'm dead... or going to die._

_I've got to see who it is... but I can't see... maybe I can hear something._

Toon Link tried to listen for a sound with all his might. Finally, he heard a soft voice.

"He's not dead... he's not dead and he's not going to die... not if I'm still here!"

_It was Link! Link was-!...crying? I have never seen cry Link before... over anything. He could be in the toughest battle and not cry... even if he was in a lot of pain. And now... he is... for me._

This thought made Toon Link feel so happy and important, he couldn't **possibly** die now.

Toon Link struggled with all his might to speak; to let Link know he was not dead so he would stop feeling so bad over something that had not happened.

_...Link, _he tried to say, but no words came out.

_..LINK! _he tried again, but still, no words came out.

_One more time,_ he thought, and put everything he had into saying his brother's name, and finally...

"...Link..." Toon Link barely managed to get out.

Link stopped wiping away blood from his brother's chest that was now soaked in the thick red-black water long enough to see Toon Link's eyes open the slightest bit. Link smiled through the tears that were continually coming down his face; one of the happiest smiles he had probably ever smiled in his life.

"Toon...Link?" Link whimpered.

Toon Link dashed a quick smile over his face to show Link that he was truly ok.

"Toon Link... I thought you were dead! I mean, I'm glad you're not, but... oh I'm just so glad you're not!" Link said, more tears coming down as he looked at his brother.

"Link..." it was becoming a slight bit easier to speak now, "I...I'm sorry I made you... worry so much."

"Don't dare apologize! I should have been here for you right when it happened so could I stop this before it got so bad!" Link said, blaming himself once again. Toon Link had a hurt expression on his face, making Link feel bad for having yelled at him.

Link picked his brother up ever so carefully, and hugged him very gently. With some difficulty, Toon Link hugged him back. He was so glad to have a big brother like Link.

Link set him back down on his bed, then took out some bandages he had found and began to patch up the large hole in his brother's chest now that he could see clearer. (Link thought it was too risky to leave Toon Link there by himself to go find the doctor.)

After Toon Link had stopped bleeding long enough for Link to get his thoughts together, he thought of the arrow with that hideous speck on the end. He looked around for it, and found it lying on the ground a few feet away from the hospital bed. He had apparently dropped it when he found Toon Link in this state. He picked it up off the ground, looking on the end to make sure the dark particle was still there, relieved when he saw that it was. He thought about all this for a minute.

_How did Toon Link get a wound like that just where Bowser had been shot? _Link thought.

As if reading his thoughts, Toon Link piped up.

"I think that subspace is still controlling me."

Link turned to his brother to see the serious expression on his face.

"...Why do you say that?" Link asked.

Toon Link turned over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"A while ago, I woke up and saw that you weren't there, so I laid there and waited for you to get back. With nothing else to do, I started thinking about that subspace particle and how I felt when it was controlling me before. I remember it telling me, 'If you let me down, I will move on to someone else, and you will eventually die.' This really made me scared, but I didn't know exactly what it was talking about. Plus, I had bigger things to worry about at that moment. Anyway, a few minutes later, Jigglypuff ran by my room looking really scared. I asked her what happened, but she just kept saying 'Jigglypuff!' When I saw Red walking by to go check on his Pokemon, I asked him if he knew about anything that was happening. He told me that Bowser had gotten this really weird look in his eye and was randomly attacking Mario until you stepped in. When they left, I was thinking about what Red had said when suddenly, I heard Bowser yell really loudly. Almost immediately, I felt a really sharp pain in my chest, and I couldn't breathe very well. Then... I blacked out until just a few minutes ago."

"..Must have been when Bowser woke up…" Link continued.

The pieces of the puzzle were just starting to come together.

Suddenly,

"The boy is right, you know," a voice came from the speck on the end of the arrow.

Link turned to look at it, wondering if it was really the particle that had spoken.

_**How strange! =) Keep reading to find out what happens!**_


	9. A new problem

"...What?" Link questioned.

"Am I speaking another language here? I said he's right; part of my subspace is still inside him. Anything that anyone does to me or anyone I control will also happen to this boy," The particle said.

Link's eye twitched and rage built inside of him. So this stupid particle was the reason his brother had been going through all this?

"SO HOW DO I STOP THAT?" Link said through gritted teeth.

"Now now, no need to get testy," the particle giggled. It sounded like a girl, which was strange since the voice that had come from Toon Link sounded so… manly.

"I will tell you how, but then you have to send me back to the primids. I do so miss them, and my mission has obviously failed here," said the particle.

Link's eyes shifted to Toon Link and then he sighed, looking back at the particle.

"...I'm listening," said Link, wondering if it was right to trust her.

"Before I tell you," she said, "I feel I should introduce myself. My name is Marron and I am the subspace particle that belongs to the primid that was the first one to be created. Now, may I ask who and... *ahem*... what you are?" she ended, glancing at his pointy ears.

"Worried and impatient. Now tell me how to get that stupid subspace out of my little brother," Link said sternly.

"No, no, no," she scolded, "you will address me in a nice tone and tell me who you are or I will not help you."

Link was getting very angry. What did some subspace particle want with his name? He didn't trust her for one minute. He decided to make up some sort of fake name to cover his own. One quickly popped in his head.

"My name is Talo(1)," Link lied, "I'm from Ordon Village in Hyrule."

"Alright, Talo, this is how you get it out of him; although it will probably sound like the absolute WORST thing in the world, but it is the only way," she snickered, "you have to stab your brother in the chest, right where that arrow was, with your sword. I can tell that it has the power of light in it, and it will drive away the darkness of subspace."

Link's mouth fell open.

_**Sorry, I know this is another pretty short chapter, but I do hope you keep reading =)**_

_**(1) In case you didn't know, Talo is a some-what obnoxious little boy from Ordon Village that Link has to rescue near the beginning of Twilight Princess.**_


	10. The choice

Link looked at her in shock. Stab his own brother? He couldn't! He **wouldn't!** But... he had to.

Noticing the shock and indecision on his face, she said, "I know it sounds bad, but you should consider yourself lucky. If it weren't for that sword of yours, the boy's death would be absolute."

_I'm not so sure it isn't already_, Link thought, still not sure if he could trust the speck. Link decided to speak his mind.

"...How can I trust you? You tried to get my brother to kill his friends, and not to mention what you made me do to Bowser. Will he even live if I do it?" Link growled at her.

"Wooaa down boy *giggle*. Listen, I know how bad it must be, but I am just following orders. I am not as evil as you make me out to be. I can't do anything without that primid of mine. But as for your question, I can't promise you one way or the other. I don't know the extent of his injuries," she said.

Link thought for a moment, wondering what the best thing to do would be. Trust her and...stab... his little brother in the chest, or try to find a different way?

Suddenly, Link's face lit up as he had an idea.

_My light arrows! They would work and it wouldn't cause near as much damage! Toon Link will definitely live! Now, all I have to do is- _Link paused when he felt the empty quiver where his light arrows were supposed to be. What had he done with them? Then he remembered.

_Oh my God... _Link thought.

He had used his very last light arrow to get that speck out of Bowser, and he couldn't get any more until he went back to Hyrule.

Link's face scrunched up in rage.

He was about to explode. He hated that speck so much that he just wanted to slash it and punch it until it bled to death; to torture it as much had tortured him.

Then the particle spoke, snapping him out of his silent rant.

"Better hurry up with that decision, Talo, I think the boys not doin' too well over there," she said, glancing at Toon Link.

Link looked over at Toon as well and saw that she was right. He was breathing heavily, and the new bandage Link had just put on him minutes ago was already soaked through in blood.

He gasped and started to panic, not having any idea what he should do. He felt pressured and rushed, only making his decision harder and harder to make. Toon Link was slowly slipping away and Link couldn't stop it.

"Ya know," she said, snapping Link's head back to her, "I guess I might as well tell you..." she paused, and Link looked at her with anticipation.

_Maybe she has another way to get the rest of the subspace out of Toon Link! Or maybe!- _Link was interrupted when the particle spoke.

"You're kinda cute! *giggle*" she said with a girly laugh.

Link sweat-dropped and almost fell over, his new found hope crushed. He then regained his composure and stared with pure _hatred _at the thing in his hand. If looks could kill, she'd drop dead on the spot.

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR DUMB JOKES! MY BROTHER IS DYING AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! QUIT MESSING WITH ME AND JUST **SHUT UP**!" Link screamed at her.

"Well, it wasn't a joke, but go ahead, Mr. Serious," she said angrily.

Link put Marron down on the bedside table and went over to Toon Link, who had started to sweat and become flushed from so much blood loss. He looked at his small body, and how weak it looked. Could it take a hit from his Master Sword in this condition? Of course, he had used it in battle against him, but that was when the Brawl shields kept them from dealing any real physical damage.

Link took his brother's small, feeble body from his bed, and hugged him tight against his chest, trying to be careful and not open his wound any bigger. He hugged the little Link for a long time, just in case it was the last hug he got from his live brother. He hated to do it, but if Link left him like this, Toon Link may have an even better chance of dying. If nothing else, the more and more people the speck began to control, the more suffering Toon Link would go through each day. And if the person died...

He sat Toon back on the bed and looked down at his blood covered tunic. He must have accidentally opened the wound after he had hugged Toon Link a bit too hard when he thought about his brother just suddenly dropping dead when a person the speck was controlling got killed. It could happen any second, any minute of the day, any day of the week.

He hated that speck. He hated it with every fiber of his being.

He had just gotten his little brother back from almost dying... almost having a heart attack doing so... and now he would have to go through it again.

Link wondered if he should wake Toon Link up and tell him what was going on and that if he... didn't come back... he would always love him no matter what, or if he should just do it now to make it less painful.

Too late to make a decision.

Toon Link woke up and looked up at Link with a smile.

"Hey, Link," he said with a drowsy grin, but the smile faded when he saw his brothers tear-covered face, "why...are you crying? I'm... okay now."

Link was at a loss for words. He couldn't stop the tears.

Then, with Toon Link looking up at him with tears in his eyes and a shocked expression, Link brought up his Master Sword, right over where Toon Link had been bleeding earlier...

And plunged it down on his little brother.

_**Oh NO! What will happen to poor little Toon Link? Keep reading to find out!**_


	11. Undecided feelings

Link closed his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth together to keep from crying. He didn't dare look at Toon Link and see what he must look like right now.

"...L...in...k," Toon stuttered under harsh breaths. He was coughing and barely able to speak.

"Did he just call you Link?" the particle asked, not even with the slightest bit of concern for Link's dying brother.

"SHUT THE HECK UP UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE!" Link said with all the hatred he had for that stupid speck. If it weren't for her, none of this would have happened. Link's eyes remained shut tightly and he started to cry without even trying to hold back.

The speck didn't bother to say anymore, because she could clearly see that he was very upset. Even if she wanted to say something to him, it would just get back bad responses. She became very quiet.

Link could hear Toon Link rasping for breath…

He could feel the pressure on his blade as Toon Link's body stiffened…

He could feel the pressure go away when his body finally fell limp…

But most of all… he could feel his heart shattering into pieces.

Finally... silence.

Link opened his eyes, and looked down at his brother. Toon Link's eyes were limply closed. Blood covered his body, as well as Link's hand, his sword, his and Toon Link's clothes, the bed, the sheets, and the floor.

Link began to tear up for the umpteenth time today, and took his brother's cold, small, limp hand in his and tried to feel for a pulse.

There was another long moment of silence.

Link then fell to his knees beside Toon Link's lifeless body, not even caring about the blood that soaked into his pants. He grabbed a handful of Toon Link's shirt and cried into it like never had before in his life. He cried for a long time, while the minutes turned to hours. The speck listened patiently, suddenly feeling something she had never felt before.

Sympathy.

_**Sorry, I know this was like ridiculously short, but the next chapter will be a little longer. I do think that I should note that I know when people die, their eyes are open, but I just wanted to put closed since I really didn't want to picture what open might look like. =) Keep reading please!**_


	12. A change of heart

_This is a horrible feeling!_ she thought, _what need could ANY human possibly have for this stupid emotion?_

But yet, she felt it, and as much as she hated it, she knew the only way to get rid of it.

After a moment of indecision, she floated quietly over to Link whose frame was still racked with tears. She said with the best, soothing voice she had,

"Talo.. er.. Link. I can... I can help you."

His crying let up and turned to her, his ocean blue eyes freezing to ice.

"HELP? I THINK YOU'VE 'HELPED' QUITE ENOUGH! HOW COULD YOU **POSSIBLY** HELP ME?" Link screamed through tears.

She was about to retort and withdraw her offer, but then sighed and knew that he had every right to be upset with her.

"I... I can save him." She said, seemingly unfazed by his hateful tone.

His expression changed completely as he dropped his dark scowl into a questioned stare.

"You... can? How?" Link asked. Hope filled his watery, crystal blue eyes.

She was taken back to see how cute and almost angelic Link really looked. His golden blond hair fell gently over part of one of his eyes, and the other was crystal blue and sparkling. His face was smooth and clear, and his bright, straight, white teeth were coming through his soft lips to reveal a small smile at the hope now presented to him. If specks could blush, she was.

"I...I could give him my life..," she stuttered, composing herself, "but I would have to die. I'm just like one of those fairy thingies you guys have, only 'evil' according to you," she said with her best angry voice she could while blushing beet red.

Link was so happy on the inside, but tried not to show it on the outside. He was afraid that if he was too happy about the thought of the specks death, she might change her mind. Though, he thought it was really ironic that the cause of his brother's death was now attempting to bring him back to life.

"I-I'm sorry that you will have to die," he said (partly lying), "but I really want...**need **my brother back," Link pleaded.

The speck was quiet for a moment before realizing that this was the right thing to do.

"O...k..." she said sadly. She slowly began to float over towards Toon Link's body when Link thought of something.

"Wait," Link said, stopping her, "is **all** the subspace going to be gone this time?"

"Yes," she replied, "if I die, all the subspace I created will fade with me."

As she continued on her mission, she thought about exactly what she was doing.

_I can't believe I'm doing this! _she thought,_ saving this boy that I don't even know with my own life! This is ridiculous!_

She turned back to Link, having second thoughts, but when she saw how cute and hopeful he looked, she sighed and blushed again.

_Ugh... cuteness, _she thought again,_ another human feature I hate. _

_**Read the last chapter to find out what happens! I am sad that this is almost the end of the story though =(**_


	13. Death, Life, and a new day

She slowly floated over to Toon Link who lay in a pool of blood, and started to glow with a slight pink tint. She sighed deeply, and then went into the wound on Toon Link's chest and it, too, began to glow pink.

The wound started to close up, and all the blood, including that on Link's clothes, went back into his gaping cut.

When the cut had completely closed, Link ran up to his brother, wondering if what Marron said was true.

He shook his brother ever so gently, and was overjoyed when Toon Link slowly opened his eyes.

He looked around for a second, then over to Link, who was looking at him with worried, tear-filled eyes. Toon Link had an extremely scared look on his face, remembering the sight just before he had blacked out. Link noticed this and was worried, unknowing what was wrong, but quickly realized what caused so much fear in his brother's horror-stricken face.

"Toon... I'm so glad you're okay... and I know that you're probably scared to death of me now, but I did what I did in an attempt to save your life. The particle told me to get the subspace out of you, I had to stab my Master Sword into your chest because the light in it would get rid of all the leftover darkness. But as you can tell... it... didn't work out so well. So, seeing all the trouble and pain she caused me, she decided she would give her life for you," Link explained, thinking even to him this sounded strange.

Toon Link stared in silence, wondering what in the world had happened after he had fallen asleep. He finally chose to believe that Link would never do anything on purpose to hurt him, probably because he loved his brother, and he knew his brother loved him back.

"You're a very lucky kid, Toon," Link finally said when he saw the fear fade from Toon Link's face, "I'm really glad you're okay."

"Me too, Link," Toon Link smiled and then his expression turned serious. He turned his head and looked over at the opposite wall.

"Link… can I you tell you something?" he asked.

Link was confused, but nodded.

"Of course. What is it?" Link asked.

"Link… I… feel like I'm not worth all the trouble that you just went through… I think that I'm just a pain. I feel like people compare me to you and set standards, and if I don't meet them… they think even less of me, making you look bad in return. Everyone always seems to see me as the most confident person in the mansion… but in reality… they couldn't be further from the truth… it's just a front to cover up my true feelings. I'm just… weak… I guess… in heart and in strength… I… can't even say this without crying…" Toon Link stopped when he felt tears flooding behind his eyes.

"Toon, why are you saying that? You are **not **a pain; everybody loves you very much. You are most definitely not weak, and I can understand crying. You saw how I was crying before, and if you saw me when I thought you were dead... well, lets just say I don't think you would have looked up to me anymore. Besides, you're only 12 and you have been through so much these last few days; it's completely understandable. And you don't need to be like me, Toon. Everyone loves you for you, and doesn't compare you to me or anyone else. Don't think you're not important. People would cry for months - and probably some after that - if you suddenly died. And so what? It doesn't matter if you're not the most confident person in the world. Everyone has their own weaknesses and strong points. Don't you remember Lucas? When he first came here, he was all by himself and cried if someone even looked at him funny, but I seem to remember a certain brother of mine that went over and made friends with him when no one else would, and now he's really strong and confident. And you are too. You just have to believe that like I do."

Link smiled at his brother when he saw his face light up.

Toon Link looked at him endearingly, and then hugged Link around his neck.

Link hugged back as hard as he could, and was so glad to have his brother back.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

After a few days, Toon Link had recovered, still not being able to compete in brawls for several more weeks, but able to move back into a room with Link.

No one knew anything about what had happened with Toon Link and the subspace particle, so neither brother felt the need to say anything.

Bowser had recovered, too, though sometimes he would shoot nasty looks at Link for cracking his shell. Link didn't bother to mention that it was to save his life.

Falco had also recovered, and was back in the brawls. Toon Link apologized to him, and Falco easily forgave him, telling him that he wasn't himself when the incident happened.

Everything was back to normal around the mansion, and that's the way it stayed.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

*2 days later*

Toon Link and Link were sitting in their room ready for bed, having a small conversation before they went to sleep.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Toon Link; where did you go off to that night? It was dark out already and I didn't even know you had gone anywhere," Link inquired.

Toon Link cocked his head to the side in thought. His face suddenly lit up with recollection.

"Oh yea! Ganondorf told me to go out and get a few things for the gathering that night. I tried to protest, but he insisted that I go and get them. He gave me a list and sent me out, but before I could even get through the forest, those things attacked me…" Toon Link's voice trailed off as he recalled the horrible night.

Link looked surprised for a moment before is face scrunched up in anger and he headed towards the door. Toon Link looked at him in confusion as he watched him open the door.

"Where are you going?" Toon Link asked.

Link turned back towards him and smirked.

"Oh, I'm just going to pay Ganondorf a little… _visit_," Link hissed out the last word.

Toon Link continued to watch his brother's actions in confusion as he grabbed his sword that was propped by the door and went towards Ganondorf's room.

After a few moments, Toon Link heard Ganondorf scream and a lot of crashing sounds. He jumped when he heard the sound of Link's smash ball initiating and the slashing sounds of his sword. He finally heard the ruckus stop and increasing footsteps coming towards his door.

Link came back into the room with a calm expression as he straightened his clothes a bit.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired. Why don't we go to bed now?" Link asked nonchalantly.

Toon Link blinked and nodded some-what despite himself. Link smiled and then climbed into bed with his brother, positioning himself next to the wall.

"Good night," Link said with a yawn.

Toon Link looked at his brother with a smile and rolled his eyes playfully. He turned out the light and then snuggled down into the warmness of the covers.

"Good night, Link," Toon Link chuckled.

It wouldn't be such a good night for Ganondorf.

_**~~THE END~~**_

_**I hoped you liked it! Remember, this IS my first fan fic, so please be nice, although I would like to know if I messed up anything that I should fix in later stories. Thanks for reading!* I won't ask to review, because you already know how important that is to all story writers, and will review if you want to. Thanks again!* - Dawn ^^,**_


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